Once word reached his ears Alucard set off in a supernatural dash, and anger filled up inside him. He raced through the forests in Transylvania like a bat out of hell, his destination clear in his deep red eyes. Trees passed his peripheral vision in a blur, and animals didn't even notice him passing them on his way through the trees, his black robes melding into the darkness of the night.

Physically he was angry, mentally in was in anguish. He had left her alone at their home and minions of hell had come looking for him but instead found Maria pretty much defenseless. So they took her, just to get at him, and fled into the night. Thankfully, the dhampir's minions Imp and Fairy had been keeping an eye on her and were able to locate her. According to them Maria had been taken to a cathedral north of their village, and within minutes he would be there to get her back.

He just hoped she'd be alright. 'Please, be safe Maria...'

The cathedral was of gothic architecture and the inside was dark with only candles to light the vast open area. Minions of darkness his in the shadows, the power of God in His own house did nothing to them. At the altar, where couples were to be wed in holy matrimony, lay the unconscious Maria. She lay motionless but still breathing softly, having been put under a spell of sleep by the monster that had been sent to capture her. Well, it was a wizard under the employ of a vampire lord whose loyalty to the Lord of Darkness was deeper than the dark of the night. Yet when Dracula had been defeated at the hands of his son years before all of his minions went into hiding, to await the time when their lord would return.

Thus, when it had heard that the Lord's own son and the human he was living with were nearby he took the opportunity to steal the human away. This was all done to teach the son a lesson.

The wizard, armed with a dagger in its bony hand with long fingernails, appeared to float next to the altar. It's purple robes fluttered in the air, its face hidden in the shadows of its hood, and it didn't speak. Its whispered breathing was heard in the silence of the cathedral.

It was then that the spell holding Maria in slumber began to weaken. Her eyelids fluttered momentarily before they opened fully.

"Where..." she tried to gather her thoughts. The last thing she had remembered was changing into her night dress before she had seen Alucard off when he went to the village for food and then...darkness of sleep. She was still in her white dress, her long blond hair still tied with the emerald green ribbons in a long tail that would reach past her waist. Turning her head she realized that she quickly realized she was in a pickle. She saw rows of pews of the church she knew was in her village, but she also saw the many monsters slowly creeping towards her. She caught her breath in her chest and tried to sit up but was quickly locked in place on the altar. Her body became still as stone as a devil's star appeared under her body on the altar.

"I...can't...move..." she could still breathe but her limbs wouldn't budge no matter how hard she tried. Her eyes were still able to move though, and she quickly saw the wizard floating next to her, armed with the dagger in its bony hand. Maria's eyes went wide and fear welled up inside her. She was helpless to defend herself, unable to even call her spirit animals because of her stiffness. She eyed the dagger, waiting for it to plunge into her chest, but inside it floated away down towards her feet. At first she wondered what it was doing but that was brushed aside as she heard the sound of cloth being cut. Soon enough Maria felt the cold air of the room touch her legs as the dagger cut her dress right up the middle to her chest. The blade reached her chest and pulled upward on the fabric and cut through it with ease. The remains of her dress parted, exposing Maria's naked flesh to the world and her breathing quickened as she felt ice cold air hit her breasts. Not from the humiliation but from the dance with time until her demise.

The wizard raised the dagger right above where Maria's heart was, the point of the weapon ready to be driven into her. She closed her eyes and waited for her death. "Alucard..."

Just then the doors to the cathedral exploded off the hinges, crashing into the nearest pews and crushing any monster caught in its way. A crimson blur went down the aisle in ungodly speed towards the altar. Alucard made himself known as he flew over the altar, but the length of his steel sword cut right through not only the dagger that had about pierced Maria but the wizard as well. The creature couldn't even scream in agony before it disappeared in death. The star holding Maria down disappeared and she finally felt able to move. She sat up and put her arms to her chest and was gasping for air.

Alucard moved quickly to be by her side. Before she could even say his name he wrapped the length of his red lined cape around her shoulders, protecting her skin from the cold as well as hiding her nakedness. Chivalry was a part of his demeanor and he couldn't shake it. Maria found herself pressing her body right up against Alucard and her cheeks flushed red. It was too sudden for her even with the circumstances she was in.

The monsters slowly moved closer to the pair at the altar, taken aback by the loss of the wizard but still looking to menace their targets regardless.

With an arm around Maria's shoulders Alucard held her to him and pointed his sword at the encroaching hordes. "Listen here, demons of the dark. This woman is not to be harmed while I still draw breath. Should she be hurt in any shape or form from now on, I promise I will find and slaughter each and every one of you in cold blood."

He sounded menacing and some of the monsters indeed took a step back, but most kept moving forward albeit extremely slowly. Though he was trying to use an authoritative tone in the face of being outnumbered Alucard knew he had to make sure he put an emphasis on his point. He peered down at Maria with an apologetic look in his eyes, "Forgive me."

Before she could ask for what Maria become hypnotized by his red eyes, and whatever words she had intended to say were lost upon seeing his eyes. Her words were totally forgotten when he leaned down to kiss her on the lips.

She moaned against it but the feeling was so immaculate that she gave into it regardless of how sudden it was.

Alucard would explain this to her later, but he had to make his point of how precious Maria was to him so such an abduction would never happen again.

Once she was under his spell Alucard turned to the monsters, "She is Maria Renard, and she is my bride. Should any of you ever harm her again, I will kill you."

With this obvious show of affection, as well as the threat made against them, the blood thirsty monsters finally backed into the shadows and disappeared back to the darkness.

The air itself seemed to warm ever slightly and that was a signal to Alucard to lower his weapon. He still held Maria close, however.

"You alright?"

His words to the woman were full of concern and when he looked down at her he could tell she was fine. Physically anyway, but her cheeks were a shade of red.

"Um, I suppose so, but I do want something to wear. In case you haven't noticed I am naked..."

Though as a dhampir Alucard couldn't blush he understood what human men would have felt in similar situations. In fact all he had to do was glance downward and he would have seen Maria's chest in its full glory. But he was a gentleman and refrained from doing so without Maria's explicit permission. He took off his cape and put it around her. Though it did little to shield her from the air it would help her in what was about to happen. "I better get you home."

"Please do, I don't want to catch a cold," said the woman as she wrapped the cape around her body and waited for Alucard to do what he needed.

He picked her up and held her in his arms bridal style, which made Maria feel a bit giddy inside, and with the same speed he used before Alucard left the church with Maria.